Relentless
by Lightsider
Summary: Loki shrunk Steve back to his pre-serum size, but Steve's body is not the only thing that reverted. Steve no longer remembers anything after 1935. And Tony thought Cap was bad, but now he has to deal with tiny teenage Steve.
1. Chapter 1

The familiar sounds of beeping reached Steve's ears. He opened his eyes to a very white room. He saw the needle in his arm and sighed. It was not the first time, nor would it probably be the last that he woke up in a hospital. That did not concern him. What concerned him was how clean this room was. There was no way he and Bucky could afford this.

Steve looked to his left, expecting to find Bucky, but his friend was not there. Steve hoped this meant that his friend hadn't decided to blow off work to sit by Steve because they really could not afford that. Steve thoughts were interrupted by an overly cheerful voice.

"Cap, so nice of you to finally join us in the land of the living. Don't worry this was not another 70 year Cap nap. You've only been out for a few days, which I know sounds like a lot – but" and the man with the strange beard paused from his nonsense rambling. "You probably noticed that some things are not the same, but we are already on it. Natasha, Clint, and Thor are already chasing down Loki as we speak, and Bruce and I are working on a cure, just in case that does not pan out."

The man took a breath, and before he could continue – Steve interrupted, "I'm sorry, Sir. But who are you?"

The smile fell off the man's face. "Please tell me you're joking. Of course, you're joking. You have a terrible sense of humor, Capsicle. Leave the jokes to me, and you stick to being the pillar of righteousness we all know and sometimes love."

Steve wanted to correct this strange man, but when he opened his mouth to speak, his chest got tight and he started coughing uncontrollably. Soon another man came and asked him to breathe and lay back and not to strain his lungs. At least that was familiar.

Eventually, the coughing fit faded, and the other man offered Steve a small smile. "I'm sorry about Tony. I'm sure he confused you. My name is Dr. Banner. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

Steve reached back into his memory trying to remember, but that only caused his head to pound. "I'm sorry. I'm not sure." – which was extremely worrying to Steve. Where was Bucky? And how did he get here? There was no way he could afford this.

Dr. Banner nodded. "That's okay, Steve. Can you tell me what year it is?"

"1935."

Dr. Banner and the other man, Tony, shared a look, before Dr. Banner said, "Can you give us a moment Steve? We will be right back."

Steve nodded, but his brain was spinning. This situation did not make any sense. He couldn't remember how he ended up in this hospital, and he didn't know who these people were. He needed to get out of here and find Bucky. Steve pulled the IV out of his arm and climbed out of the too soft hospital bed. He looked around the room for his clothes, but before he could find anything – the two men burst back into the room.

"Steve, where are you going? Look, I know things are confusing right now, and I know you hate hospitals, but we are trying to help, so if you could just get back in the bed before you hurt yourself."

Steve had difficulty listening to the man's rambling as the room had started spinning. He braced himself with a hand on the bed. His chest started to feel tight, and it was getting more difficult to breathe. His stupid stupid body. This really was not the time for an asthma attack.

Dr. Banner suddenly thrust some sort of tube into Steve's face and commanded him to breathe. Steve obeyed and his chest started to loosen. The breaths were coming easier, and Steve sat upon the bed. Dr. Banner gave him a sympathetic look.

"I know it's confusing right now, but we need you to trust us. We are trying to help."

Steve nodded and took several more deep breaths. When he finally had his breathing under control, he looked at them and said, "I appreciate it, sirs. But there is no way I can afford to pay you for this."

Tony laughed. "Oh, you really are a wonder. Trust me, money is the least of your concerns right now."

Steve stared at him, concerned. "What did Bucky promise you?"

Steve knew Bucky, knew that he would say just about anything to get Steve help. Steve also knew that there is absolutely no way they have the money to afford this – no matter what Bucky promised. He prepared himself to apologize but noticed that the men shared a strained look.

"What?"

Surprisingly, it is the rambling man who answered him, "Barnes isn't here."

Steve's confused expression must show because Dr. Banner spoke to him softly, "It's not 1935."

Before Dr. Banner could continue, Tony interrupted. "It's 1953. And you're going to love it. So much has changed. There is medicine for your asthma and other ailments. There is unbelievable technology now. You're going to love it."

Tony's voice had taken on a slightly desperate tone, and Dr. Banner was looking at him with disbelief. Steve was trying to understand how anything the rambling man said could possibly be true.

"Tony," Dr. Banner said as he rubbed his forehead with his right hand.

Tony ignored him and continued, "I know it's going to sound crazy, but there was another world war in the forties. You and Barnes both fought in the war. And I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Barnes was lost in the war. After the war, we became friends. You apparently got amnesia, and now we are working very hard to rectify that."

Steve stared at Tony in disbelief. "Bucky is dead?"

Tony nodded, and Steve felt numb shock. Bucky couldn't be dead. There was no way there was a war where Steve survived and Bucky died. Unless – oh God. Bucky must have died protecting Steve. This was his fault. Bucky's death was his fault.

"I want to be alone." Steve said. The two men nodded and left.

Bruce stared at Tony in disbelief. "Tony."

"Don't Bruce. Did you really want to go in and tell teenage Steve that it is 2016? How well do you think he would take it? Do you think he would believe us? He broke out of SHIELD in ten seconds."

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. "He broke out of SHIELD because they tried to lie to him."

Tony waved his hand at Bruce. "SHIELD is full of morons. Jarvis, I want you to put together a 'safe' internet for Steve like parental controls, but actually historical controls."

"Sir, do you want me to deny access to anything that happened after 1953 or just change the dates?"

"A little bit of both. Reconstruct a believable history between 1935 to a 1953 that looks like today."

"Very well, sir."

"See Brucie, it's going to be fine. We have Jarvis."

Bruce sighed again. "Steve isn't an idiot."

"I agree sir. Captain Rogers has exhibited incredible intelligence, especially in discovering deception." Jarvis said.

Tony threw his hands up in the air and said, "You two have no faith in me. Trust me, we will have Cap returned to normal before he realizes anything."

Tony had no idea how wrong he was.


	2. Chapter 2

Jarvis was not programmed to say I told you so; however, that did not prevent him from thinking it. He had warned Sir that trying to deceive Captain Rogers was a fruitless endeavor. Jarvis had hoped his creator would have known better after the debacle of trying to use Jarvis to deceive Ms. Potts. Unfortunately, Sir often repeated the same mistakes with those he was in close relation.

It had taken Captain Rogers less than four hours to find holes in the reconstructed history Jarvis had provided, which was unsurprising. Trying to convince even the most simple-minded person that over 70 years of history had happened in 18 years was a monumental task.

The captain set the tablet with the fake history down and looked up to the ceiling. "Can I meet with any of the Howling Commandos?" He asked.

"I'm afraid they are all deceased, sir."

Captain Rogers frowned. "I thought you said Bucky was the only one who died during the war."

"That's correct, sir." Jarvis replied. "However, each of them lost their lives after the war."

The captain's head jerked in response. His voice was dripping with disbelief. "You expect me to believe that they survived the crazy stunts you said we pulled in the war, but died during peacetime."

Jarvis would have sighed had he been able to. Instead, he tried to reply patiently, "I know things must be confusing, but I am asking that you trust us Captain Rogers."

Steve snorted. "I'll start trusting you when you start telling me the truth. And I told you before my name is Steve."

Jarvis elected to not reply to Captain Rogers. Instead, he asked, "Is there anything else I can provide you with sir?'

"I want to take a walk outside."

Jarvis had been dreading this request from Captain Rogers. His regular routine involved a significant time outside of the tower, but it simply was not safe for a de-serumed and amnesiac Captain Rogers to be wandering the streets of 2016 New York. However, Jarvis wished that Sir had delivered the news instead of him. "Sir and Dr. Banner think it would be safer for you to remain in the tower."

Captains Rogers stiffened and his hands balled into fists. He growled, "I thought I wasn't a prisoner."

Jarvis tried to convince the captain that that was not the case, but the endeavor was as fruitless as convincing him that it really was 1953. Eventually, Captain Rogers ignored Jarvis and began destroying the sheets and blankets in the guest quarters that Sir had provided for 'tiny teenage Steve'.

On a different level of the tower, Jarvis attempted to tell his creator about the issues developing in the guest quarters, but sir had brushed him off.

"Jarvis just keep him distracted. Bruce and I are on to something. 24 hours tops and we will be able to restore at least some of Tiny Cap's memory."

It was not until, the captain began to tie the shredded material together that Jarvis grasped what he was attempting to do. "Captain Rogers, I should inform you that even if you were to make a rope long enough, there is no patio on this floor and the windows are reinforced. You do not have a possible exit strategy."

The miniaturized captain just huffed in response and continued his work. Jarvis allowed him to continue the task that had sufficiently distracted him without further interruption.

It was not until Captain Rogers grabbed his shield and started slamming it into the window that Jarvis sounded the alarms in Sir's lab.

The wind had quickly been knocked out of Tony's lungs when Jarvis showed him the footage of Steve breaking a hole through the reinforced window with his shield, and then jumping out of said window with nothing but a rope made of bedsheets. Clearly the serum didn't create Cap's reckless nature. Tony called a suit to him and sped to the outside of the tower.

Steve had his feet braced against the tower and was trying to repel down the 61 stories to the ground. Tony flew right next to him, causing Steve to startle, and his feet slipped. He was dangling from the sheet rope like a tattered flag in a thunderstorm. Tony knew he could catch mini Cap easily before he would be damaged. This teenager was going to give Tony a heart attack, so as far as the billionaire was considered the teenage terror could sweat a little.

Tony flipped his faceplate up. "If you were so intent on killing yourself, you could have saved yourself a whole lot of trouble and just jumped without the rope."

Flailing, Steve still found the strength to glare at Tony, and the engineer could admit he was a little impressed. Or he could have if he wasn't vastly annoyed.

"I'm not trying to kill myself, but I'm not going to live as a prisoner." Steve's voice was a little huffy, and Tony was slightly concerned the teenager was going to have an asthma attack. Slightly. Mostly he was annoyed.

"So your brilliant plan was to use bedsheets and try to repel down 61 stories, even though I'm kinda convinced this wind is going to snap you in two. Oh and your asthma is already acting up. This was a great plan Cap – one of my favorites."

"You're just upset I found a way out of your jail cell."

"I can show you the inside of a cell, if you want." Tony snapped. If Tony was a lesser man, he would have cut the rope and let Steve fall a little. Instead he simply grabbed this new nightmare version of Steve Rogers and flew them both to the landing pad at the top of the tower.

Steve immediately started struggling. Tony fantasized briefly about dropping the runt and letting him fall, just for a few stories. It was the fact that Steve had dealt with Tony's abuse long enough for the two to become friends that stayed his hand. That and Bruce had been turning a little green. The Hulk had developed a protective nature regarding the team, especially those who recklessly endangered their lives for fun. And Tony was not up for handling the tiny terror and Big Green.

As soon as they were safe on the landing pad, Tony put Steve down, who immediately stomped off inside. Tony followed and noticed Bruce was waiting for them, and the green was fading from his eyes. One crisis averted.

Steve had planted himself in the middle of the room, glaring at Bruce and Tony, which would have been more effective if he wasn't also trying to take steady breaths. He fumed, "I am not going to remain your prisoner. If the year is really 1953," and Steve snorted at that. Okay, that really hadn't been Tony's best lie. He was willingly to admit that – to himself. "Then I am a legal adult, and I demand to leave."

Bruce threw an I-told-you-so look at Tony, but softened his expression for Steve. Tony did not know how Steve did it. He knew for a fact that Steve was a sneaky little devil, and yet everyone – even Natasha – had this soft spot for him.

"Steve, you're right. We lied to you. We were trying to protect you, but that does not excuse our actions." Bruce acknowledged.

Steve's glare lessened, but his posture was still stiff. He only nodded his head in response to Bruce. Steve's breath was still labored, and he was still wheezing. Tony almost felt sorry for him. Almost. The teenage terror deserved some payback for almost sending the engineer into an early grave.

Bruce held out the inhaler to Steve. "I promise this will help with the tight feeling and your difficulty breathing."

Steve stared at the foreign object without reaching for it. Tony could tell Steve's breaths were getting worse, but they had effectively broken any trust with Mini Cap – which may have been Tony's fault. Maybe he was feeling a little guilty, but Cap finally answered.

"Is it the same one from the hospital room?" He wheezed.

Bruce nodded, and tiny Steve took it and used it successfully. The wheezing ceased, and color returned to Steve's face. Tony had a suspicion that Steve wasn't showing them how bad that attack was. He narrowed his eyes to say something to the idiot who apparently was born without a single self-preservation bone in his body, but Bruce decided to play peacemaker.

"How about you and I go grab a bite to eat and I'll explain everything?" Bruce offered.

Tony was against this plan. The tiny terror did not need to be set loose on unsuspecting citizens of New York. He opened his mouth to say that, but his science bro cut him off with a poignant look and a promise to Steve.

"Tony will stay here."

Okay fine. Tony would trust Brucie on this one. But he was keeping his suits on standby.

"Okay," Steve nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve blinked several times once he stepped onto the pavement outside Avengers Tower. Bruce did his best to smile encouragingly at Steve. He could only imagine how difficult this must be for a young Steve. Today's Manhattan was no 1935 Brooklyn.

Steve swallowed, "This is New York?"

Bruce nodded. "Manhattan."

The look of disgrace the born and raised Brooklyn kid gave Bruce was something the man from Ohio would never understand.

"Would you like to walk around a bit and get your bearings?"

Steve nodded and stuck his hands in his pockets. Bruce let Steve set the pace and their path. They didn't need to worry about being spotted. No one would recognize Steve in his current state, and well, no one ever paid attention to Dr. Banner. Steve alternated between long deep stares at their surroundings to shuffling his feet and refusing to look at anything as they wandered the streets.

The pair didn't speak, which was fine for Bruce. He wasn't Tony. He couldn't keep a conversation going by himself. He wondered if he should offer some sort of comfort, but he didn't have any words for that. Steve was the anchor of their ragtag group; their pillar of strength and hope. Bruce couldn't be that. Tony believed in his abilities to overcome any obstacle to ever consider defeat. Bruce knew he had limitations – knew that someday, there would be a villain The Avengers could not defeat. He knew there was a chance that they didn't find an answer and this new Steve was a permanent replacement. He didn't offer words of hope because he did not have them. His best bet was to help a confused Captain America come to grips with the reality of today.

After all, despite what Tony might say, Bruce was a realist.

Without warning, Steve froze in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at a building with such intensity that Bruce wondered if in another life, Steve would have been an architect – and if Steve would have been happier as an architect, rather than a super soldier trapped in the wrong century. Steve stiffened, interrupting Bruce's musing. Steve swung around and growled. Bruce did a double take, expecting that noise to have come from a much larger version of Steve.

"Why don't you treat her with some respect?"

Steve's ire was directed at a group of men, laughing at some joke Bruce had missed. The her in question looked annoyed, but didn't bother to stop to deal with the catcalling. Steve, however, decided that he wasn't just going to walk away. Steve planted himself in front of the men, rolling onto the balls of his feet, and the scientist inwardly groaned. He knew that stance.

In the back of his mind, he could feel the stirrings. The absolute need to protect Cap. He focused on breathing deeply.

One of the men, the designated ring leader, a good foot taller than Steve, stood. He eyed Steve and laughed.

"Who's going to make me? You?"

"Looks like it," Steve said matter of fact.

 **Protect.**

Fire coursed through Bruce's veins. He took a deep breath. If one of these idiots took a swing at this vulnerable version of Steve, Bruce didn't know if he would be able to hold back the Hulk. He could feel the insistence pushing at the corners of his brain.

Coming behind the teenager, Bruce placed his hands on Steve's shoulders. He grounded himself, and then let the green in his eyes and the hue of his skin show. He stood firm behind Steve and focused on the men in front of him.

 **Protect. Squish.**

Bruce dug his hands into Steve's shoulders. He had to stay, but he needed enough of The Hulk for the men to see.

The men's eyes went wide. "You're… you're the..your'e the," stunned they couldn't get the words outs.

Bruce focused on nodding. And the men ran off. Good. Those idiots were trash. He should squish them. The fire built in his body and demanded release.

"Yeah, you better run."

Steve's voice reminded Bruce that he could not change. He let go of the smaller man's shoulders and stumbled. The world was spinning, and he couldn't breathe.

 **PROTECT.**

Two cold hands grabbed his face. Sharp blue eyes searched him, and a concerned voice reached him. "Dr. Banner? Dr. Banner, are you okay?"

 **Cap okay.**

The Other Guy receded, and Dr. Banner was reeling. Unsure of how he got there, he was seated behind a dumpster in some alley. Steve kneeled in front of him, searching for the source of the problem. Bruce sucked in more air before responding.

"I'm okay, Steve." He wanted to shrink into himself. He should have let Tony and Jarvis deal with Steve.

Steve searched his face for deception, the same stare he used when checking the others for unreported injuries. Satisfied, Steve nodded.

"There's a burger place on the right. I'm starving."

Bruce opened his mouth to interrupt. They should return to the tower. Steve, apparently picking up on Bruce's thoughts, gave him a look.

"And you owe me an explanation." Steve said.

Resigned, Bruce nodded.

Thankfully, their server seated them in a quiet place in the back of the restaurant. Bruce pretended to study the menu as he considered the best way to explain everything to Steve. Before his thoughts fully formed, their server was back. Bruce ordered a burger; his thoughts were far from food, but his brief struggle earlier demanded that he eat.

"Just a water, ma'am."

The waitress disappeared again.

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were starving."

"Lost my appetite." Steve shrugged.

Steve's gaze fell to the table. Oh. Bruce was an idiot. One of Steve's first concerns was the ability to afford the medical treatment, and now a kid fresh out of the depression was not going to eat a ten dollar burger.

"Steve, the meal – I'll" Bruce stammered.

The teenager stiffened. "I'm not a charity case."

"No, I –" Bruce paused. "Consider it payment for lying to you."

"You can't buy forgiveness."

"Please."

There must have been something in his voice because Steve relaxed. He got up, apologized to the waitress, and ordered the same meal as Bruce.

"So," Steve said.

Bruce sighed, "There's no easy way to tell you this, and you probably won't believe half of it."

"I just want the truth."

Bruce nodded and explained the story of Steve's life to the best of his ability. It was a story straight out of science fiction, so Bruce wasn't surprised that Steve's facial expression registered between disbelief and denial throughout the tale. Steve wasn't surprised by his desperation to enlist or the super soldier program, but when Bruce glossed over Sergeant Barnes' death and proceeded to discuss how Captain America saved the world and how the ice saved him – Steve cut him off.

"Is Bucky dead?"

Bruce sighed. Getting into Barnes' story with this Steve seemed incredibly foolish, but truth was important to Steve and the younger man didn't believe in shades of it.

"That's complicated."

"Pretty sure it's a yes or no question." Steve dared Bruce to lie to him.

The scientist sighed again. "He's not dead, but he's also not the man you knew."

Steve gave him a quizzical look.

"Let me finish one story at a time."

Bruce delayed the story of the Winter Soldier by focusing on The Avengers, and he glossed over the whole SHIELD is Hydra thing because those organizations didn't mean much to this Steve, which brought them to their recent encounter with Loki. Bruce explained that Loki had trapped Steve for thirty-three minutes before the others could get to him. When they finally did get to Steve, he was unconscious and a teenager. Steve seemed unconcerned about these events. He kept his single-minded determination.

"Where's Bucky?"

There was no other ways to procrastinate the story, so he admitted that Barnes had been brainwashed for 70 years, and they had no idea where he currently was. Predictably, Steve looked more upset about his friend than anything in his own story. He asked to be excused and then left for the restroom, presumably to collect himself.

It wasn't until over fifteen minutes had passed that Bruce decided to check on him. He found an empty bathroom with an open window. Tony was going to kill him.

 **Arthur's Note:** I hope y'all enjoyed his chapter. I'm not as familiar with Bruce, so I would love your thoughts on how I handled his character.


	4. Chapter 4

"Your call appears to have gone straight to voicemail, Sir." Jarvis intoned over the speakers in Tony's lab.

"That's what the fifth time?" Tony replied.

"Perhaps Mister Wilson meant it when he told you he wasn't going to continue to answer your calls." Jarvis said.

"Psh," Tony responded, while waving a hand absentmindedly in the air. "We just have to wear him down. Let me leave a voicemail this time."

Resigned, Jarvis said. "Very well, sir. You may begin when you are ready."

"Sammy Baby, don't be like this. Cap needs your help. I thought you had this major man-crush on Rogers. I'll even double my earlier offer, if you come babysit." Tony instructed Jarvis to send the voicemail.

"Alright J, let's get back to work. Where were we?"

"You were researching ways to the effect of dementia on the brain. However, the problem does not appear to be related to dementia; Captain Rogers' brain scans do not resemble the scans of a patient with dementia. His brain is in peak condition."

"You're saying it's not memory loss – that's Steve's body and mind literally traveled through time. That's absurd."

"You share a building with a man who transforms into the Hulk when angered. We have left absurd behind long ago, Sir."

Tony chuckled to himself and silently agreed with Jarvis. "Let's delve into modern theories of time travel then."

"I'm assuming you only want the scientific theories and not the fictional ones."

"Hardy, har, har, Jarvis. Let's work to get Cap back. I'm sure the tiny terror has annoyed your circuits just as much as he has mine."

"Unfortunately, my greatest annoyance happens to be my creator."

Tony grinned with pride before diving headfirst into theories on alternate realities, timelines, and the previously believed impossible time travel.

Believing for the sake of the argument that Steve had traveled back – or was it forward? – in time, does that mean their captain is currently running around 1930s New York? Would the poorly concealed depressed man even want to come back, if that were the case? Of course, he'll come back. His sense of duty is larger than Tony's pride and that's saying something. And he would miss them. Tony was sure of that.

Jarvis interrupted his thoughts. "Sir, Ms. Potts is calling."

"Oh a distraction! Put her on."

"Should I also inform the woman you plan to marry that you called her a distraction?" Jarvis asked.

"I will donate you to a high school science lab." Tony sassed back.

"I'm quaking in my proverbial boots, Sir, over that very real threat."

Before Tony could reply Pepper's face illuminated one of his screens, replacing the Reed's hypothesis on the effects of time travel on timelines and realities.

Pepper smiled when she saw him, and Tony knew his face lit up as well. He loved this woman, and there was a little black box he had planned to give to her had not Loki interrupted their anniversary – which Jarvis only had to remind him of four times. In the end, Tony still forgot, but Jarvis, that beautiful, precious soul made reservations at Pepper's favorite restaurant for them.

"How's the research going?"

Tony's smile dropped. "I'm actually considering time travel as a viable option at this point. Clearly, rational thought left when Steve became my own personal nightmare."

"Oh, shush." Pepper reprimanded. "He's cute."

"Cute?!" Tony replied flabbergasted. "Cute?! That adorable little angel destroyed a wall on one of my guest floors and about fifty of my finest sheets."

Pepper shook her head, but there was a fond smile. "You don't need – Are you watching Dr. Who?"

Tony looked at the screen that had caught Pepper's eye. "Purely for research purposes."

Her eyes narrowed. "That better not be the new season without me."

"Do I look suicidal? Don't answer that. Of course not. I'm playing old seasons in hope that something will inspire me."

Pepper relaxed and said, "I'm guessing timey wimey doesn't help produce viable research options."

"It's less about the words and more about the show's concepts of time, but unfortunately no bright flashes of inspired genius yet."

"You'll get there. You always do."

Tony smiled, a feeling of gratitude spread through him. This woman, and who knows why – that was an equation he hadn't figured out yet, believed in him. He needed her. For a thousand and one reasons, he needed her.

Pepper then took on her eyes of assessment as Tony called them to himself, never aloud to her. "How are you doing with all this?"

"Good, great, absolute fantastic. Bruce is babysitting Steve, and I get to play in an entirely new scientific field. It's good for the brain."

"Tony."

Pepper looked unimpressed. He knew why. They had gone to counseling together briefly when he almost lost her. He had been willing to do anything to get her back, which apparently was head doctors. The one thing pounded into his head by the questionably certifiable shrink and Pepper afterward was open and honest communication. Something the genius exceled at, which is why he will attempt to be honest with her and address his repressed emotional state. Ugh. It was a good thing he loved her.

He took a deep breath before replying. "Honestly Pep? I'm a little out of my league here. Obviously, it's not the new 'science'. I can handle that with ease. I will have learned all the theories of time travel by this time tomorrow." He took a breath again and looked at her patient face. "It's Steve. He hates me. Like actively trying to escape the tower because he thinks I'm a lying evil genius, who has nothing better to do than kidnap him, lock him in a tower, and convince him that he's in the future – hates me."

His girlfriend raised an eyebrow. "Have you been lying to him?"

Tony looked affronted. "I lied about one thing, and he's acting like I'm his greatest enemy."

"Tony, have you even tried to be friends with him or have you been hiding in the lab avoiding him?"

"I do not avoid my problems."

Pepper snorted at that. "Tony, I love you. I do. But you absolutely do sulk and avoid your problems by creating emergencies in the lab." Tony tried to interrupt, but she continued. "Have you tried apologizing and telling him that you'd like to be friends?"

"Hold on, Steve and I are not friends. We are casual acquaintances, who sometimes team up to fight evil together."

Her eyebrows rose again. He was quickly losing control of this conversation.

"Do you pester all of your casual acquaintances to move into a custom-built floor in the tower?"

Tony's face sank at that. "It's not like he has agreed."

"You are not still sulking that Steve hasn't accepted your offer."

Tony grinned. "Me? Sulk? Never."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "You need to work out your problems with Steve." There was mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Maybe you and Steve should go to counseling."

Tony's mouth fell. "That's – that's not even funny. I am not going to couple's therapy with Steve."

"I dunno. It could help team dynamics."

And didn't that phrase just sound entirely reminiscent of Steve. "You," he pointed a finger at her and hissed, "are not going to place any idea in Cap's head."

Pepper smiled. "Then I suggest you speak with him and discuss how his continued rejection reminds you of-"

"If you finish that sentence, I swear," Tony interrupted.

Pepper looked entirely too satisfied with herself. Tony was currently torn from marrying her so that all that evil could be directed at anyone else or trying to destroy her – except Pepper Potts was indestructible, so that left marriage as the only practical solution.

"You'll do what?" She asked, knowing he had no answer.

"Defy the laws of space time and ensure that you grow up to be less evil."

Pepper grinned. "You do that." She looked down at another one of her tablets. "Sorry, I have to go. I'm working with the President of Nigeria to use SI technology to better equip more regions in Africa."

"Have I mentioned I'm really glad I made you CEO?"

The CEO of SI rolled her eyes. "Only every time you get to miss a meeting. I have to go. I love you, Tony."

"I love-" Tony started but her screen was already transformed back to text. Tony sighed. He noticed his phone's light was flashing intermittently.

"J, why didn't you tell me I received a text?"

"You have the lab on level five lockdown, which means I alert you only to Ms. Potts and emergencies." The AI responded with exasperation.

Tony ignored him.

 _One new message from Birdboy._

 _Don't ever call me that again._

Tony texted back.

 _If you come babysit, it is a deal._

His text alert flashed again.

 _I am not missing my sister's wedding._

 _Stop calling._

Tony ignored that. Mainly because Capsicle would be appalled if Sam missed his sister's wedding because of him. Tony was still going to pester Sam until he realized he needed to be here immediately following the festivities.

"Sir, you have an incoming call from Dr. Banner."

That can't be good. "Put him through."

"Tony? Tony. I can't believe it. I lost Steve."

Bruce was still talking, but Tony's mind immediately filled with all the ways the frail teenager, who was from 1935, could injure himself or die in modern day New York. This was bad. He felt the room start to spin, and he reached a hand to his desk to steady himself. His chest was tight, and his vision was narrowing. Not now. He did not need this now.

"Tony? Tony? Are you there?" Bruce paused. "Tony, breathe. Take a deep breath for me."

He did as instructed. He followed Bruce through a few calming breaths. Then he shifted gears to possible solutions. He forced his mind to stay focused on solving the problem rather than the consequences of said problems.

"Jarvis, run a scan of any video cameras in the area, you can gain access to. Bruce try searching the surrounding area. With any luck, he hasn't gotten far. He can't be that fast. I'm going to put on the suit and do aerial sweeps."

"Okay," Bruce responded. "We will find him, Tony."

Tony agreed, because he could not think about what would happen if they didn't.

 **Author's Note:** I am so so sorry for the delay. Between finals and Christmas, this got away from me. Updates should come more regularly now.

Also, I think it is important to say that I think therapy is one of the most helpful things and should be completely de-stigmatized. Unfortunately, Tony doesn't. Although as he realizes it saved his relationship with Pepper, maybe he will change his tune.

As always, reviews and favorites are awesome!


	5. Chapter 5

Steve landed light on his feet outside the diner. He felt bad for splitting Dr. Banner, but he needed to understand things without the ever-watchful eyes of his jailers. Steve liked Dr. Banner, and he wanted to trust him, but he needed to see this new era for himself. He needed to know they weren't lying to him. Besides he had been paying attention during their stroll earlier. He could get back to the monstrosity of a building Tony called home. Now Tony, he didn't trust. Tony had lied to him, locked him in a room with an invisible butler, and then disappeared. Steve knew his type. The shifty kinds who were all talk with no follow through.

Once a couple of the O'Sullivan boys tried to promise Mrs. Kelly that they would fix up her rundown apartment, but they needed the cash upfront for supplies. Steve overheard them talking about how easy it was to fool the old twit and picked a fight. It was one of the few fights where Bucky hadn't shown up until it was long over. Mrs. Kelly, though, found them in the middle of the fight and threatened the boys with a rolling pin for beating up a man half their size. Steve had loved that comment. He forced himself to bit back his less than wholesome retort to the dame. The O'Sullivans were trash, but even they weren't low enough to hit a woman. Mrs. Kelly rushed Steve inside and forced raw meat onto his black eye. Once she got the story out of him, she gave him half of the money she had planned on giving the boys. Steve tried to refuse the money, but then Bucky showed up, took one look at the situation, and pocketed the money while promising to keep an eye on Steve.

Tony reminded Steve of the O'Sullivan brothers.

Perhaps if Steve hadn't met Tony, he'd be willing to trust Dr. Banner more freely. As it stood, Steve was determined to get some more information before going toe to toe with Tony's metal monster again. See Bucky, he had some restraint.

Bucky.

That was the other reason Steve had to leave. Neither Dr. Banner nor Tony were particularly interested in finding Bucky, which didn't sit well with the younger man. He had difficulty imagining any future where Bucky wasn't at his side, nor could he imagine making friends with people who didn't care about Steve's best friend.

Steve weaved a complicated pattern of steps as he walked farther away from Dr. Banner. He knew he didn't have money for the subway, assuming that was still around, but he needed to get further away from the older man without being spotted.

Steve allowed his feet to carry him along the unfamiliar roads, noticing that the others on the sidewalk could care less about him. Some had their faces schooled into a frown as they rushed about. Others kept staring at a tiny glowing box in their hands. All of them failed to notice anyone else. This place certainly didn't feel like his New York.

Once he estimated that he was far enough away, Steve tried to find a newspaper. He hadn't heard the telltale sound of children crying the headlines during his walk, so he had to assume newsies were not around anymore. Still, he had seen an old man on a bench reading a newspaper, so newspapers had to be around still.

There. Steve spotted a stand filled with newspapers. He casually glanced at the headlines and recoiled in shock at some of the naked dames pictured on the magazines. He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. He diverted his attention to the familiar black and white of the newspapers, scanning them for information. The confused man couldn't hope to afford one in this place. His lunch cost over half a month's rent for Steve's and Bucky's rundown apartment. He did, however, find that at least the new date he had been given was accurate. Other than that the news was filled with headlines regarding Trump's Twitter.

 _What was that?_ Steve wondered. From the headlines, it certainly sounded like a new disease rampaging the country. Yet there was nothing that could either confirm or deny the crazy tale that Dr. Banner had spun. Of course, he doubted he would ever be front page news, but still he needed something.

A flash of color caught the artist's eye. He picked up a comic book that looked vaguely like Famous Funnies. Only this book was called The Avengers, and Tony's metal suit of armor appeared on the cover along with an angry green monster, a woman who looked to be trying to shoot and proposition someone simultaneously, a flying man with a hammer, a man with a bow and arrow, and the leader, who was dressed in red, white, and blue. …The Avengers were comic book characters.

Steve shook his head. He had witnessed the capabilities of Tony's suit, so that wasn't fictional. Alright, chances were that there was a group called The Avengers, although how Steve was supposed to believe that he was the muscly man wearing a flag was beyond him.

He set the comic down and continued his tour around the city. He noticed there was more and more spray paint covering the walls in this part of the city. A couple of apartments had broken windows, and trash littered the streets. Steve realized this may not be the place he wanted to be caught after the sun set. Judging by the darkening of the sky, sunset wasn't too far away. He supposed he should head back to the tower or at least in its direction. He still hadn't a clue about Bucky's whereabouts, but at least he was more confident that Dr. Banner was telling him the truth.

He turned around and debated the fastest way to get back to the tower, when he heard a woman cry out. Without hesitation, Steve ran towards the sound.

When he rounded the corner, he found a man with a knife threatening a woman and trying to steal her purse. The woman was frantic and clutched tightly to her purse.

"Did your mother never teach you to treat a dame with respect?" Steve growled as he advanced.

The man look at Steve in disbelief, but let the woman go when he saw that the newcomer wasn't going away. The woman ran, but not before trying to get Steve to turnaround as well.

"Come on. Don't be an idiot. Let's go." She pulled at Steve's arm.

Steve ignored her and lunged at the attacker. The surprise of his attack helped him to knock the man down and he heard the man drop the knife as they handed in a heap.

The man jumped up before Steve could, and kicked the good Samaritan in the ribs hard. Steve rolled away trying to avoid another attack, but before he could the man landed on top of him, straddling him so he couldn't move. Steve steeled himself as the other man pulled his arm back for a punch, but the hit never connected.

Steve watched as a man with long hair grabbed the man off of Steve. Steve's savior grabbed the man's wrist and shoved his arm around his back pinning the man against the concrete wall. He pulled enough that the man screamed and the pop that echoed in the alley told Steve that the man's shoulder had just been dislocated. Before the smaller man could ask his savior to have some mercy, the man brought up what appeared to be a metal hand and knocked the man unconscious.

His rescuer refused to turn around or acknowledge Steve's presence. There was a long moment of silence before something in the man deflated and he turned around.

"I know. You had him on the ropes."

"Bucky," Steve cried.

"Is there a reason you ditched Dr. Banner in that diner? 'Cuz I gotta say Steve I appreciated how he was keeping ya out of fights."

Steve ignored his friend's words and rushed in to hug him. He ignored the pain that the movement caused in his ribs. He'd have bruising, but with Bucky here that didn't matter. His friend, however, didn't return the hug. He stiffened as if the movement was somehow unexpected, which surprised the shorter man. Bucky might have always been the one initiating contact, but Steve never rebuffed him. Eventually, Bucky relaxed and ruffled Steve's hair.

Steve stepped back and looked at Bucky.

"What happened to your hair?"

It was probably the least important development in this whole situation, but Bucky had always prided himself on his groomed hair. Some days, he spent hours on it.

Bucky snorted.

Before he could reply, Steve heard the sound of Tony's metal monster land behind them.

The faceplate flipped open, and Tony looked desperate.

"Steve, I need you to step away from him."

"Not gonna happen," Steve growled.

The carefree mask Tony normally wore was gone and the man looked frightened.

"I know you think that's your friend, but you need to step away."

Steve planted himself in between Bucky and Tony. "I'm not leaving Bucky."

To his surprise, it was Bucky who spoke next. "Steve, you should go with him."

Steve turned around. His eyes widened and hurt evident on his face.

"I'm not leaving you," he growled.

It was then that Dr. Banner appeared in the alley, panting. He was slightly hunched trying to gather air, but there was fear in his eyes as well.

Steve didn't understand. Why would these men fear Bucky? Unless they feared that Bucky could unravel the lies they spun. Of course, none of that explained why Bucky himself wanted Steve to leave.

"I'm not leaving Bucky," Steve repeated.

Dr. Banner approached slowly with his hands raised. "What if Bucky joins us back at the tower?"

"I go where he goes," Steve declared. It was a timeless truth. It had been the truth since they met on the playground years ago.

No one moved for several moments.

There was a rather large sigh from behind him. "Alright Punk, we'll all go back to the tower."

Dr. Banner nodded. "Tony, can you call Happy and get us a ride back?"

Tony scowled at Bucky before turning his attention to the doctor. "Can't. He's with Pepper in Nigeria."

"Can you call someone else?"

"Happy's the only driver I trust."

Dr. Banner's eyebrows rose. "You have a multibillion dollar company, and you only have one driver you trust?"

Tony shrugged. "Trust is a complicated thing when you have more money than friends. We'll just have to get a cab."

"You want to call a cab." Bruce repeated, incredulous.

"If you have other ideas, I'm open to them." Tony whirled around and looked at everyone. "No? Then Jarvis get us a cab."

"And an ambulance." Steve said, gesturing to the unconscious man on the floor.

Tony nodded once. "You heard him J. Get us a cab and an ambulance."

It wouldn't be until all this was behind him that Steve would truly appreciate Tony Stark choosing to sit with him in the backseat of a cab, rather than fly off on his own. For now, he was mostly just annoyed that that left him squished in the middle of the backseat.

 **Author's Note:** I have no excuses for this delay. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I love writing Steve. It was really interesting to compare Steve's 1930s friendship with Bucky with the way he tends to be a bit stand offish with The Avengers.

Fun facts: Splitting is 1930s slang for leaving. Famous Funnies was the first comic book created in 1933.


	6. Chapter 6

Tony had had enough. At first, he was just annoyed with this tiny terror that disrupted his life, but riding in the back of a smelly New York cab threw him into anger. If anyone else besides Bruce were there, he would have flown off and left the others, but images of Steve's _friend_ remembering his last mission and the Hulk demolishing Manhattan in protective rage forced him into the back seat of a sticky and smelly cab.

Tony couldn't stop the glares he directed at Steve. Somehow this teenage monster became the noble Captain America, but right now he was a tangible reminder why Tony had avoided children of his own. Steve appeared to be on the same page, as he was glaring at Tony with the same intensity. If he were honest, Steve's glare had more bite than his own. Apparently, the I disapprove of all your life choices glare was not developed by Captain America but core to Steve Rogers' opinion of Tony Stark.

Tony also had to divert half of his glare to watching The Winter Soldier. The Soldier had his focus on everything outside of the cab, which Tony hoped meant that he was less likely to just up and attack them. Since he didn't know how stable Terminator was, he kept his mouth shut until they were in the relative safety of the tower.

Bruce kept shifting his weight in the front seat and wringing his hands. He was even attempting to make small talk with their driver to dispel some of the tension in the overcrowded cab.

The engineer sat on the back left. If Terminator got any ideas, Bruce wouldn't need his protection. From here, he could reach Steve or the driver quickly, depending on who the Hulk decided to shield. The contingency planning also annoyed him. His job was to be brilliant, do science, pay for everything, and make the team cooler. Rogers' _one job_ was strategy. He glared harder at mini-Cap.

When they finally arrived at the Tower, Tony pulled Steve out of the car because he wanted to ensure that he was between Steve and the assassin. Mr. Self-Righteous Fury, though, did not appreciate the gesture. He planted his feet and threw a well-aimed punch at the engineer's gut.

"Don't touch me," he spat.

The blow knocked the wind out of Tony, along with any reply he would have made. Except apparently the genius didn't need to reply because Terminator grabbed Steve by the ear and dragged him inside. If it was any other day, he would gladly pay to have that footage and use it as blackmail forever. As it was though, he still hasn't given a comment about why someone was grappling down the tower. And oh, hadn't the tabloids had fun with that one. The articles ranged from Stark's illegitimate child to a secret child trafficking ring run by the Avengers. Now, bystanders just filmed him being hit and told off by the same person who was attempting to escape the tower earlier today. Wonderful.

This was all undeniably Steve's fault, but Tony knew that he would be blamed for it. Life really wasn't fair. The genius made a mental-note to add to his list of ways to make Rogers' life difficult.

Bruce paid the driver and came to check on Tony. His friend helped to usher him inside where they were greeted with one very heated stare directed at one very chastised Steve Rogers. Steve approached Tony and looked him directly in the eye.

"I'm sorry for punching you."

Tony, who currently would have enjoyed nothing more than going toe-to-toe with Rogers, bit down his nasty comeback and nodded. Steve was currently a teenager. It was up to Tony to be the adult. He could do this. He could adult. He could take the high road and not start a fight. He could do this.

There was no way in hell he could do this.

He needed a drink.

He stormed through the lobby to the elevators and waited for the others to enter. His personal nightmare entered the elevator, but Bruce stayed outside.

"I think I'm going to take the stairs," he said.

Tony mentally cursed every event in his life that led him to this moment. There was no way a visit from an angry green hulk monster was going to be helpful for anyone. There was so much Tony wanted to say and curse, but instead he ground his teeth together and nodded. He would not start a fight with Rogers. He would not start a fight with Rogers.

Alcohol. He needed a drink.

The elevator door shut and Jarvis automatically took them up to the common area, near the top floor. The AI could undoubtedly sense the tension in the cramped elevator and knew better than to attempt to break the tenuous peace.

Steve, on the other hand, did not have a single problem expressing his opinion.

"Are you plannin' on locking us up?" He asked with a glare.

The Winter Soldier whacked Steve with his flesh hand. "Cut it out, Punk. Ya ma raised you better than this."

Tony wasn't sure who was more surprised by the outburst. The Winter Soldier's eyes widened and he backed into the corner of the elevator like a spooked animal. Steve looked affronted, but he didn't reply. He took a step away from his friend and glared at everyone. A moody teenager was bad enough, but the genius didn't know what he would do if Terminator had a mental break.

The trio stepped out of the elevator and each man walked to different areas of the room. Tony grabbed a drink from his bar. Steve planted himself near the entrance of the living room, ready for a fight. The soldier placed himself where the three entrances to the room were in his eyesight and the wall against his back. Clint had a perch near the ceiling along the same wall. Stark had it installed after noticing the ex-assassin's preference for being able to see everything while having his back covered.

Tony took a sip of his scotch as he searched his brain for a non-snarky response to pursue something resembling diplomacy. This was _Steve's_ job, and the engineer did not appreciate Rogers taking a teenage vacation from leadership.

Terminator saved Stark again. The assassin's eyes narrowed.

"Rogers is injured." He stated.

Tony did a doubletake. There was nothing in mini-Cap's stance that suggested injury. In fact, the man stood straighter at the accusation.

"I'm fine."

The soldier hopped over the couch in the middle of the room and pushed against Steve's ribs. The teenager doubled over in pain. Tony's heart froze and brain shut down as the assassin assaulted Cap. There was no way he'd be able to explain to anyone how he had been responsible for Steve's death, which meant Steve had to stay alive. His body rebooted when the apparently only stable person in the room spoke again. And didn't Tony have to laugh at that thought?

"Two bruised ribs, possibly cracked." The assassin stated matter of fact.

Steve straightened and gasped, "I'm fine."

Barnes glared at Steve, and Tony tossed back the rest of his scotch. The elevator dinged, which meant Banner had walked a few flights before grabbing a solo elevator ride.

Tony was grateful for the other scientist's presence. Steve trusted Banner, and Bruce was infinitely better at keeping the peace than Tony. If anyone could get Steve to chill, it was Banner.

Bruce walked into the room and Tony immediately assaulted him with words. There was only so much silence he could force on himself after all.

"Brucie, so glad you're here. Turns out our guest hurt himself after he dined and dashed on you. You should probably take him down to medical and make sure his ribs are just bruised and not broken."

"I'm fine," Steve repeated testily.

"Forgive my skepticism, but you just fell over, and the swallow breaths you are taking suggest to me that there is damage."

Steve glared at the soldier. "I was pushed."

Tony waved his hand at him. "Tomato, To-ma-to."

"Steve, why don't we check?" Bruce suggested in his patented I'm not going to turn into the Hulk, so you can trust me tone. Bruce only used that tone around people he didn't know well.

Mini-Cap nodded once and turned to follow Bruce, but he paused when he realized he wasn't being followed.

"Bucky?"

The assassin did not appear to have any intention of following Rogers.

"I do not require medical assistance."

Tony walked over to the others in the room, purposely placing himself closer to Barnes. "Besides, Bucky here and I need to chat. It's been a while since we caught up."

Steve looked skeptically at Tony, but it was the soldier who convinced him.

"I'm not going to medical."

Steve nodded, confused, and followed Banner out of the room.

After the two left the room, Tony turned to the assassin.

"Would you like a drink?" He offered.

"I can't get drunk."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask if you wanted to get drunk. I offered you a drink," He said as he walked back to his bar.

There was a delay before a hesitant agreement.

"What's your poison?" Tony received no response, so he continued. "Whiskey? Scotch? Gin? Rum? You name it, I'm sure I have it somewhere."

There was no response, so Tony poured two scotches and walked over to Barnes and placed the drink on the table next to him.

The former assassin stiffed it suspiciously before taking a small taste. He held onto the glass and said, "You're no longer afraid of me."

"I was never afraid of you."

The man raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

Tony clarified, "I may have been slightly concerned, but you're more afraid of yourself, aren't you? Thus, I am less concerned."

The man looked confusedly at Stark.

"You are afraid of hurting Rogers, but you can't stop protecting him, can you?"

"I'm dangerous."

"So am I," Tony agreed. "We just sent Steve alone to medical with a man with a raging beast inside. Dangerous is the norm around here."

"I could kill you before you could call a suit."

Tony took another sip of his scotch. "And yet, I'm still alive. You had ample time to kill Rogers before I arrived, and yet, he's still alive. In fact, you've only hurt the man who attacked our dear Cap."

"I am not always in control." Barnes looked away from Tony.

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Tony asked. "You realize it will take a lot more to convince Cap. We are going to reverse this teenage nightmare, and he isn't going to take no for an answer once he's back to his brawny self."

"Rogers is an idiot."

Tony snorted. "Yes, but he's also stubborn."

The man let out a sigh and his shoulders deflated. His presence shifted from battle-hardened warrior to weary soldier to exasperated friend.

"If you could have kept him in the tower, I wouldn't be here."

"Have you tried keeping Rogers anywhere? He needs a leash." Tony pointed out.

Barnes laughed. "You have no idea."

Tony refilled his glass and raised it high. "To protecting Rogers from himself."

Barnes brows furrowed. He made no attempt to clink Tony's glass, but stated, "He's an idiot."

"I'll drink to that," Tony said as he tossed down his third glass of scotch.

 **Author's Note:** I'm not completely happy with this chapter, but I wanted to get it out without too much of a delay. I hope y'all enjoy it anyway. Comments are greatly appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7

Steve sat silently on the hospital bed, which Bruce considered a small mercy. Since Loki's magic interfered, there had been so much drama and movement; the scientist was grateful for some silence.

Bruce had been working almost none stop with Tony to find a cure for this predicament, with little real success – despite Tony's optimism – and the more desperate Tony Stark got, the more movement and chaos surrounded Bruce. Quite frankly, he was grateful for a still movement where Steve wasn't asking him impossible questions and Tony was chattering about his latest ill-conceived idea. The scientist turned makeshift doctor knew his patient was brooding. He'd seen that expression on Steve's face, usually shortly after a fight with Tony, and right before destroyed punching bags would litter the gym floor. If he could spare the energy, he might attempt to play peacemaker, but right now he just wanted his short-lived peace.

The Hulk's new mothering and protective bear instincts regarding Tiny Cap also drained his system. Bruce felt constantly on edge and near a hulk out, which no one needed right now. Suppressing the Hulk required energy and focus. Bruce did not need any more drama.

"The good news is your ribs are just bruised." Dr. Banner informed his patient.

"And the bad news?" Steve asked.

"Have you ever had bruised ribs before?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, I know what to do."

Bruce's eyebrows rose at that. He wasn't sure if this was typical Cap I just need to sleep it off or the resigned speak of an invalid, who knew what to say to a doctor. Either way, he doubted Steve planned on resting.

"I expect you to actually rest and ice your ribs. I can give you a painkiller for any discomfort, but not if you're going to use it as an excuse to jump out of buildings." Bruce informed him drily.

Tony entered the room with the familiar whoosh from the automatic doors.

"Don't worry Brucie. I found us the perfect mother hen, who will make sure our dear Captain Rogers follows doctor's orders." Tony mentioned as he walked towards Bruce.

For a moment, the entire room turned green, but then Tony's arm was thrown over his shoulder like it belonged there, like he knew that Bruce would need him. Bruce took a couple of breathes before responding, and he missed some of Steve and Tony's interaction. It must have gone better than normal because instead of hatred or disgust, Steve's face registered a wary trust.

"Tony, can I speak to you in the other room?" Bruce asked because he was used to Tony making questionable decisions, but throwing Steve in with a man who has tried to kill him was not something the scientist or the Hulk could let slide.

"Sure," Tony said. "We'll just be a minute. Then we will reunite you with your sweetheart." The engineer winked at Steve, who immediately started sputtering.

Bruce led the way out the door, and as soon as the doors shut tuned to face the other genius.

"Are you insane?!" He shrieked.

Tony raised his hands in the universal sign of peace. "Don't get your Hulk panties in a twist. I don't think Barnes is going to hurt him."

Bruce blinked at Tony. The engineer was not one for blind trust of people. This change was startling, and Bruce wondered what had happened upstairs.

"And you know this, how?"

"The man's a mouse around Rogers. He's acting on protective instincts, but other than that he's trying to become one with the wall." Tony explained.

"And when his brainwashed addled brain snaps or suddenly remembers his last mission?"

Tony looked offended. "I have five automated suits in the room with Barnes and Steve. They are programmed to follow Barnes and to stun, incapacitate, or kill Terminator, if anything happens."

Bruce could feel some of his rage dissipating, but his overall dread of the situation didn't decrease.

"Let me get this straight. You'd rather risk putting Steve in a room with a man whose last orders were to kill Captain America and for all we know, could snap at any moment – than communicate with Steve." Bruce had difficulty keeping the disbelief out of his voice.

"This is a win win. We get unfettered worktime, and Rogers gets a babysitter, who most likely knows every trick the kid could pull."

Bruce shook his head. "This is such a bad idea."

Tony grinned. "That's not a no."

Bruce walked back into the lab to help Steve move to a new guest quarters without a busted window, but with an assassin and Iron Man bots. …He needed to stop allowing Tony to talk him into insane ideas.

When Steve entered the room and saw the five Iron Men and no sign of his friend, he turned on Bruce and glared.

"What is this?" He spat. "Where is Bucky?"

Bruce silently cursed Tony. How had he been convinced to take Steve up by himself?

The Winter Soldier walked into the living room from the bedroom. The man looked weary and defeated.

"I'm here, Steve."

Steve's glare didn't lessen. "Why are there metal monsters in here?"

"They're for our protection." Barnes said as he crawled closer to Steve.

Steve growled, and for a brief second, Bruce thought he was going to get punched.

Bucky intervened. "You trust me, pal."

Finally, the teenager's eyes shifted to Barnes and nodded, but there was confusion in his eyes.

The man's thumb jerked in Bruce's direction. "Then, trust him." A shaky hand ran through his hair. "We should talk."

The miniaturized version of the leader of the Avengers nodded and walked further into the apartment. Bruce left the apartment, hoping this wouldn't be the last time he saw Steve alive.

The scientist took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose as the elevator descended back into the labs.

"Jarvis, what are the chance that this blows up in our faces?" He asked.

"I do not have enough data in regards to Sergeant Barnes' current mental state to adequately answer that question, Sir."

"In other words, you're avoiding answering my question."

"I am but a product of my creator."

Bruce let out a large sigh and said, "When this is all over, remind me to tell Pepper about Tony's decision and to book a vacation with Tony's credit card."

"Of course, Sir," The AI responded.

The elevator doors opened and Bruce walked out to find Tony monitoring Barnes and Steve's room.

"I thought you weren't worried."

Tony waved his hand at Bruce. "I'm not worried, but I am curious."

Bruce rolled his eyes.

"I tried calling Sammy again, but Jarvis said his sister's wedding had started, so we won't hear from him until that's over." Tony stated.

"Or you could just try talking to Steve," Bruce replied.

"Tried that, didn't work. We have to move onto new solutions."

Jarvis cut into their conversation. "Sir, you have an incoming message from Mister Barton."

"Finally!" Tony exclaimed.

Clint's face appeared on one of Tony's screens. He grinned. "Aw honey, if I knew you were going to miss me this much, I wouldn't have left."

"Barton, I missed you like a person misses a mosquito infestation. I do, however, miss tall, strong, and a pain in my ass." Tony replied.

Clint looked over at Bruce and whistled. "Things must be bad. I thought Steve was kinda cute."

Tony made a garbled noise. "No. Just no." He pointed an accusing finger at the screen. "Tell me you found him."

"We found him. We should be home by dawn."

Bruce let out a sigh of relief. This was almost over.

 **Author's Note:** We are nearing the end! Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Bucky had kept cursory tabs on Rogers. The soldier needed time to figure out who the hell he was, but there was a protective instinct in him that ran deeper than Hydra's programming – no matter how hard he tried to shake it off, so he watched Rogers from a distance. Always from a distance.

There had been a few times he had almost broken his self-imposed exile because Rogers was an idiot without a single ounce of self-preservation. The soldier reminded himself that Rogers was a supersoldier and finally had a body that could handle the idiot's choices, mostly.

But then Rogers became Steve, and before Barnes had fully realized it, he was at an airport sneaking into the cargo hold of a plane headed to New York. Bucky Barnes had always protected scrawny Steve Rogers – and nothing could change that… unfortunately.

Upon arriving back in New York, Barnes tried to keep his distance, but despite his slight mass, Steve exerted a gravitational pull that would not be denied. He had managed to settle the need to protect by keeping eyes on Rogers. Then the idiot picked a fight with a man with a knife, after ditching his Hulk babysitter. Life wasn't fair.

All of this, led to his current predicament of being locked in Stark's ugly tower until someone found a way to return Steve back to Captain America.

He suspected that Steve did this on purpose; he was always more of a grifter than anyone believed.

Grifter.

The word caused him to pause. He did not know the definition of the word. There was no memory attached to it. It was just there. He pulled his small notebook out of his jacket pocket and wrote the word, 'Grifter?'. The soldier traced his flesh index finger over the word he had written and said it aloud a few times to place it.

There was nothing. Just a word he knew but didn't. He shoved the notebook back into his pocket as he heard the door to the guest apartment in Stark's tower open. Then he heard Rogers telltale shriek of I object to this injustice. Barnes sighed and tried to prepare himself.

"I'm here, Steve." He said and walked out of the bedroom.

The amnesic teenager was glaring, and Barnes knew that Steve was about three seconds from starting another fight with his teammates.

"Why are there metal monsters in here?" Steve spat.

"They're for our protection," he stated.

Steve growled. When Rogers got his memory back, Steve was going to sulk in guilt for days about the way he treated his teammates. It was time to intervene.

"You trust me, pal." It wasn't a question. Bucky knew the answer.

Steve eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded.

Bucky gestured towards Dr. Banner. "Then trust him." He raised his flesh hand through his hair. "We should talk."

Steve nodded again and followed him further into the apartment. Dr. Banner gave one last distrustful look towards the soldier before he exited. Steve's posture relaxed, but his eyes watched the unmanned Iron Man suits that were stationed along the walls. Barnes did not enjoy the feeling of being watched – but he knew better than to trust his brain. If the programming took over, and he murdered Steve, he would eat a bullet for breakfast.

Steve was in pain. Bucky could not identify the tell that told his brain that Rogers was unsuccessfully masking pain, but he knew it - the same way he knew he protected Steve.

"Sit down," he ordered. "What did the doctor say?"

"Just bruised," the teenager replied, sitting down. "It's not that bad."

Bucky ignored him and walked into the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack for Steve. He sat down in the chair next to the couch that Steve was resting on.

"Buck, what's going on?" Steve questioned him.

"Same as always." Bucky replied.

Steve's brows furrowed again.

"You decided to pick a fight with someone twice your size and ended up getting your ass handed to you."

Steve glared at him.

"I'm not the one who picked a fight with an alien magician."

"They weren't lying."

Bucky chose not to respond. Once, he would have known the moves to this dance with Steve. Now, his movements were clumsy and left him exhausted.

Steve, however, didn't have this problem, and he didn't care that his partner couldn't lead. Steve leaned forward and locked his eyes onto Bucky's. The soldier leaned away from Steve.

"Buck, are you okay?"

Bucky barked a humorless laugh. He was the farthest thing from okay.

Steve dropped his eyes to his shoes. "I'm sorry." He mumbled.

"For what?" Bucky hadn't been expecting that.

"I know I do not have the right memory, but we both know that the only reason you'd be lost in a war is if you were protecting me." Steve replied without looking up.

What?

Seriously. What. Rogers didn't even remember the train, and he blamed himself. How deep did this idiot's guilt complex run? Just. What.

"It wasn't your fault."

Steve just shook his head, and the soldier had no idea how to respond.

"It wasn't your fault." He repeated. "Have I ever lied to you?"

Steve did look up at that. "Let's see. There was the time you told me Carolyn Jones wanted me to ask her on a date. There's the time you snuck a buck's worth of cayenne pepper into my lunch. And let's not forget all those times, you slipped medicine into my soup after Ma couldn't get me to swallow it."

Bucky could not remember any of those moments, but Steve recalled them with a smile, which in Bucky's mind was an improvement.

"There's no place like home." The words slipped out of Bucky's mouth without his permission.

Steve gave him a quizzical look.

"I believe Sergeant Barnes is referring to _The Wizard of Oz._ It premiered in 1939 and is a favorite of Captain Rogers." Jarvis interjected into the conversation. "I am able to play a copy of the film, if it would please you both."

Despite knowing that Jarvis existed, Bucky still tensed at the sound of the voice through the overhead speakers.

Steve stared at Bucky before responding. There was a look on his face that the soldier couldn't place.

"We would enjoy that. Thank you," Steve said.

The movie clicked on, and Steve's eyes fixated on the screen. Bucky knew that Steve was watching him out of the corner of his eye. He attempted to relax in his chair and stare at the screen, even if his mind was a million miles away from the movie.

An hour later, Jarvis interjected again. "I apologize for interrupting, but Mr. Barton, Sir Odinson, and Ms. Romanoff have returned with Loki. Your presence is requested on the common floor."

When the stepped onto the common floor, Bucky noticed that Loki's hands were held in some sort of strongbox handcuffs. Thor was holding the back of his tunic tightly. Romanoff was seated casually on the couch. Tony was pacing and fiddling with something in his hands. A quick sweep revealed that Barton was up on a perch of some kind with an arrow aimed at Loki. Banner was missing.

Loki noticed them first. "Ah, so the prodigal son returns. Tell me Captain, did you enjoy my gift?"

Thor growled and thunder loomed in the sky. "Enough of your games, Loki."

"Now, now brother dearest. The good captain and I made a trade. If he's unhappy with his side of things, that's hardly my fault. I do still plan to collect." Loki smirked.

"You expect us to believe that Captain Goody-Two Shoes made a deal with the god of mischief. Please. Now be nice and return our captain or we'll bring out the Hulk," Stark replied.

Loki paled slightly at the mention of the Hulk, but he remained firm in his posture. "Do you not remember Steven? Allow me to show you."

He raised his hands up at Thor, who did not immediately relent.

"Come now. If you expect me to return him to his proper state, I must be able to access my magic," Loki stated.

A hammer flew across the room and landed in Thor's other hand. He tapped the cuffs once, and they dropped from Loki's wrists. The hammer stayed raised in Thor's hands.

"Do not be so foolish as to attempt trickery. You are outnumbered and surrounded." Thor's voice boomed.

Loki smirked and danced his fingers in the air. "I'm not after trickery today, just what is rightfully mine."

A swirling mist appeared in the center of the room, and Bucky instinctively moved in front of Steve, but the swirl turned into a screen of some kind that showed Steve as Captain America with his shield raised defensively walking towards a carefree Loki. Bucky's eyes fixed to the swirling screen.

"Tell me Captain, do you ever get tired of fighting a battle that isn't yours?" Loki smirked.

"As long as there is evil in this world, the fight is mine," Rogers responded as he kept walking closer.

Seriously? Did the idiot eat motivational quotes for breakfast?

"Yet the desire to return to your home - to your time runs deep in your heart."

Rogers visibly faltered.

Loki smirked. "I can return you to your time. All I require of you is one vial of your blood."

Rogers glare turned steely. "I'm not interested."

"Really Captain? Even if it means you could fix your greatest mistake?"

Another swirling cloud appeared next to Rogers, but the soldier didn't need to see what Rogers was seeing. The way Rogers' eyes widen and the color drained from his face told the soldier it was his fall.

"Think of all the pain you could save Barnes. Think of all the people that would still be alive, if you hadn't failed him."

Bucky's sight ran red. He ran through the cloud of magic sight that Loki conjured and grabbed Loki by the throat with his metal hand and shoved him into the fall.

"Tell him it isn't true." He growled. "Tell him you lied. Tell. Him."

Loki struggled to breathe and kicked out against him, but Bucky didn't feel it. Then there was a hand on his arm.

"I'm a big fan of disposing Loki, but if you kill him before he fixes Steve, we have a problem." Stark informed him.

Bucky released his grip on Loki, who stumbled before righting himself. "Fix him or I will kill you."

"I'd listen to him if I were you. He's really good at killing." Stark rambled.

Bucky turned around and saw terror on Steve's face. He can't remember a time Steve was ever afraid, but here he was afraid and afraid of him.

Steve charged toward him, and the soldier prepared himself for a punch. Instead two arms wrapped around him and repeated muffles of 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.' resonated through his chest.

"Well." Stark clapped his hands together. "This has certainly been fun – but I suggest you fix our captain before someone does kill you."

Loki coughed several times before speaking. "I will return your captain to his previous state as soon as I'm given payment."

"You will not be given his blood," Thor boomed. Thundered rolled in the sky.

"A deal is a deal," Loki snarled.

Romanoff, who had remained deceptively calm, examined Loki. "You promised to return Steve to his time, which you didn't. You failed your part of the deal." She smiled. "Here's a new deal. You restore him, or I will kill you slowly and artfully."

"Enough," Thor said. "Your deceptions and trickery have failed. You had your fun. Now undo this mischief."

Loki sighed dramatically and pretended that he graciously consented to their request. A wave of magic hit Steve, and he slumped against Bucky's chest. Slowly the small Steve Rogers grew into a full-size Captain America, but Steve remained unconscious.

"He should wake with his memories intact in two days' time." Loki told them.

Thor grabbed Loki and forced him back into the handcuffs.

"I shall return him to Asgard and return." He told the group before stepping out onto Stark's Iron Man landing pad and flying off.

"Do you think you can carry Sleeping Beauty to medical? We need to make sure he's in working order." Stark asked him.

Bucky nodded. He would carry Steve to medical, and then he would disappear.

 **Author's Note:** Grifter is 1930s slang.

Next up: Steve wakes up and the team react to Loki's revelations. Thank you for all the comments and favorites. You make me smile. :)


	9. Chapter 9

Steve woke up with his head pounding and the familiar sounds of a heart rate monitor beeping. He groaned. He didn't remember how he had ended up in the Avenger's medical ward again. There was a general ache throughout his body as if he had forgotten to stretch for multiple days, but other than that, he felt fine.

"I'm starting to think you just enjoy hospital beds." Sam's voice spoke from his left.

Steve sat up in the bed, refusing to acknowledge the way the action pulled at his muscles.

"What happened?" Steve asked.

"You tried to take on a god by yourself."

Flashes of smoke and screaming civilians returned to Steve. He sighed. "Loki isn't a god, Sam. He's an alien."

Sam gave him an unamused look. There was something in the tightening of Sam's eyebrows and his silence that told Steve, he had forgotten something important.

Like a bolt, he straightened further. His muscles protested the movement. "Dencia's wedding! Sam, I'm so sorry. Please tell me you went without me."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Of course, I went without you. I explained everything, but if you miss Thanksgiving my 80-year-old granny will come after you."

Steve chuckled and relaxed back into the bed. Thunder boomed outside. Through the window, he could see rain pouring onto the city.

Sam shifted his position in his seat and leaned forward. "I'm more concerned about the conversation you had with Loki," he said.

Steve stiffened. "What?"

"The deal you made with him."

Steve remembered an empty building and a conversation; he looked away from Sam. "I don't know what you are talking about," he lied.

Sam shook his head. "Loki showed the team, and Jarvis recorded it, if you need a refresher."

"It was a mistake," Steve acquiesced.

His friend nodded. "You're right. Tell me what you are going to do about it."

Steve didn't reply, and Sam shook his head with a sigh.

"Did you contact anyone on the list of counselors I gave you?" He asked.

Steve's jaw set as he replied, "I'm fine."

"People who are fine do not make ethically dubious deals with a man responsible for killing numerous people."

"It was only supposed to affect me."

There was another large sigh from Sam. "Do we really need to have another conversation about how the world's understanding of mental health and treatment of it have changed?"

Steve had no interest in repeating that conversation. He was glad others could get the help they need, but he didn't need that. He was saved from explaining because Bruce walked into the room.

"Jarvis said you were awake. How are you feeling?" He said as he approached Steve's bed.

"I'm fine," Steve responded.

The doctor's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Your body underwent significant transformation twice in the last week. Are you going to try to tell me you are not experiencing pain?"

"I can handle the pain." Bruce and Sam looked at him skeptically, so Steve added, "It's not like you can offer anything for me."

Bruce replied, "Tony and I haven't given up hope on developing a numbing agent and pain killer that will work with your metabolism."

Steve nodded and stood up to leave the room. He felt as though his muscles were too heavy for his body. His whole body ached and he was tired. Outside lightening flashed and illuminated the solemn faces on the men more clearly.

"How much do you remember?" Sam asked.

"Not much. It's all a blur after Loki," he replied.

Bruce nodded. "Your memories may come back to you as your brain continues to stabilize and heal."

"How long was I out of commission?"

Sam laughed loudly. "I heard you used your shield to smash one of Stark's windows. I'm not sure you were ever out of commission."

Steve tensed. He assumed that he had spent the time in this stupid hospital bed. He rubbed the back of his neck. "How much damage did I cause?"

"Not as much as you could have," Bruce answered. "But you and Tony…didn't get along."

Of course, they hadn't. Steve didn't like Howard when he first met him, and Tony and he clashed during their first meeting. There was something about Stark men that initially rubbed the soldier the wrong way, but he had grown to consider both Howard and Tony friends, even if he didn't always understand them.

"Where is he now?"

"He's been in the lab for the last two days," Bruce responded.

Wonderful. Tony and he had started getting along. They hadn't had a fight on the field in two weeks, but he had smashed that up again. Would he ever be the leader his team needed?

"What happened?" He asked.

"You didn't have any memories past 1935," Bruce answered.

1935.

Steve stopped in his tracks. Oh. That wasn't good.

"Did I hurt anyone?"

Bruce hesitated. "You punched Tony once, but I don't think you hurt him."

"I'll go apologize," Steve said and made to leave the room.

Sam stopped him. "I think that can wait. Give yourself some time to rest and gather your memories."

Steve agreed, but more so because apologizing to a Stark required a battle plan for any sort of success. They avoided conversations about responsibility like he avoided Jersey. He agreed to rest in the tower for the next couple of days before returning to his apartment in DC, so that they could monitor any unexpected reactions to his transformations.

He returned to his unofficial guest room. Mainly to avoid further discussions with Sam. The soldier knew that the other man spoke out of care, but Steve wasn't interested in talking with someone about things that could not be fixed. He had moved on. There was no point in dredging the past up again.

When Steve arrived at his apartment floor, Thor was seated at his table, glowering.

"Steven, we must converse about your recent decisions."

Steve sighed. Apparently, he wasn't going to be given a chance to think through his responses to his teammates. He sat down across from Thor.

"I admit my agreement was not well thought out," he confessed.

If possible Thor's face grew darker, and the thunder outside boomed louder. "It was foolhardy and unbecoming of a leader. Do you know what Loki could have done with a vial of your blood?"

Steve kept his face neutral. He had been consumed with the idea of saving Bucky to the point that he hadn't thought through the repercussions of his actions. Thor was right. He didn't deserve to be the leader of the Avengers.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Thor leaned forward. "He would have made you his slave. You would have still possessed your mind, but your body would no longer have belonged to you. You would have been forced to watch as Loki used your strength to attack this world."

The storm thundered outside. The weight of Thor's anger hung heavy in the room and Steve did not respond. He had no excuse. In that moment, he had put his own wants ahead of the world's. He knew better. Captain America sacrificed his dreams for others. He lost sight of that when Loki dangled that carrot in front of him.

Thor's face dropped in sympathy. "The guilt you carry will destroy you." The older man rose and placed and hand on Steve's shoulder. "Steven, you are a good man and a worthy leader. Do not forget who you are."

Steve nodded, but his heart was not in it.

"I will leave you to your rest."

Thor left his room, and Steve dropped his face in his hands. He was tired in a way sleep wouldn't fix. He didn't remember the last time he wasn't tired. Thor was right. His decision was selfish and now, the team was fractured again because of him. Leaders united, but then he never was much of a leader. Bucky was the one who gathered and led the Commandos; Steve was just the face. Time hadn't changed anything. He was a failure before the serum, a failure after, and still a failure now.

The clock told him it was past eleven. He decided that he would shower and at least try to sleep before interacting with his team tomorrow. After his shower, he laid in bed, but he did not sleep. His mind kept him awake as he thought about nothing. He stared at his ceiling, waiting for an acceptable time to go to the gym. Around three, he finally fell asleep.

In his dreams, he saw a metal arm defending him. There was confusion, anger, fear. There was a swirl of fearful reactions masked with anger – but he also saw Bucky. Bucky had returned.

Steve woke up with a start. Bucky had returned. How could no one tell him? Bucky had found him and protected him. The soldier threw his blanket off and slid his feet to the ground when the strong smell of chemicals reached his nose. He opened his bedroom door to find Natasha painting her nails on the couch with a look of disinterest on her face.

"I was surprised to find you sleeping after you spent the last 48 hours asleep," Natasha spoke in lieu of greeting.

Steve crossed his arms over his chest. He replied, "Were you going to tell me?"

Natasha brought her hand up to blow on her nails. "I was hoping you'd remember."

"How long ago did he leave?" Steve asked.

Natasha set her hand down and began painting the other one. Her eyes were focused on her nails, but Steve knew she was watching him.

"He hasn't," she replied like she was telling him that the weather was nice, not bringing Steve's world to a stop.

"Where is he?" Steve walked towards the door.

With a flip, Natasha landed in front of him. Her eyes widened the smallest amount. A sign, Steve knew, meant that she was feeling some sort of emotion strongly. "I need you to not barrel through that door."

"Where. Is. He?" Steve repeated.

"Steve, I know what Bucky means to you. I convinced him to stay for one conversation with you. Do you really want that one conversation to be with your emotions running so strong?" She asked.

The soldier deflated. He needed to see Bucky. He needed to reaffirm that he was alive and healthy – but he couldn't afford to mess this conversation up. He walked back towards the living room.

"How long do I have?"

"He agreed to 24 hours after you woke up," the redhead responded.

Steve nodded. "How is he?"

"He's confused and scared, but he masks it well."

His muscles pulled him down as he collapsed onto the couch. "What do I even say?"

Natasha sat next to him, "You tell him the truth. And don't expect him to be the Bucky Barnes from the 40s. He's changed. You both have."

There was silence. Natasha never asked for more than Steve could give. After a while of silent support, she grabbed her nail polish and walked towards the door.

"When you are ready, come to the guest apartment on the floor below."


	10. Chapter 10

After Bucky placed Steve's oversized body on the medical bed, he snuck out of the room with little difficulty. The scientists focused on their teammate and paid no attention to him as he headed for the staircase. He knew Rogers was safe now. He'd be out of the building within minutes. Well he would have been – if Romanoff wasn't in the stairway, leaning against the wall with one knee bent and her foot pressed against the wall.

"The thing about running," she said as she filed her nails, "you can never run far enough or fast enough to escape yourself."

Bucky stopped a few feet away from her. Her face stirred something in him that he couldn't identify. He thought he had once knew her or someone who looked like her, but there was nothing concrete, just an unsettled feeling. He hated this – the constant knowing but not knowing. He just wanted his own damn mind back. And he didn't have time for this. Black Widow was more dangerous and smarter than Rogers. Not that that was hard. Most bricks were smarter than Rogers.

"This isn't about me," he replied.

The assassin stopped filing and gave him a flat look. "It's always about you," She said and pushed off the wall with her foot and faced him head on. "But let's pretend it's about Steve. Let's pretend you are really leaving to protect him. Steve has been more reckless since he found out you're alive, and he was already jumping out of planes without parachutes."

What.

Just. What.

Rogers was an idiot. _You don't jump out of planes without a chute, punk._ His mind froze. He had said those words before. A memory returned of fierce anger and overwhelming relief. The emotions from the memory made his stomach twist into knots. How does one person experience that much emotion and not pull apart? He forced his brain into the present, forgot the emotions, and realized that Romanoff was waiting for him to respond.

"What?"

She stared hard at Bucky, and her glare made him feel like tiny spiders were crawling down his spine. He didn't like it. Or her.

"What do you think he will do when he realizes all he has to get you return is to risk his safety?" She repeated.

This was categorically not true. Rogers had been risking his life since the 30s, and Bucky had not run into every stupid fight the kid had picked.

LIE.

Fine, but it had been three years and Bucky hadn't gotten involved. Captain America could take care of himself.

LIE.

"He won't find me," Bucky growled.

Romanoff rolled her eyes. "Of course not. He has the tracking skills of a drunk moose. But you're ignoring my question. When Steve realizes that you'll show up to protect him, how long do you think it will take for him to find an excuse to throw himself off a building?"

"Rogers is an idiot." He balled his hands into fists.

"I'm not going to argue with that," The redhead replied. "But can we agree you are not leaving for Steve?"

"I'll hurt him," he defended himself.

"Probably." She shrugged.

"I'm not safe," he growled.

"No, you're not," she agreed.

Frustrated, he threw his hands in the air in a motion that was both foreign and familiar. He quickly brought them back to his sides.

"I can't face him."

Romanoff walked closer to him and reached out to touch him, before clearly discarding the idea. She was telegraphing her body moment though, and the Winter Soldier wondered what angle she was playing.

"One conversation. That's all I'm asking for."

His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

An emotion played across her face - that he knew was not real - before she responded. If she thought that she could make him believe she was an emotional damsel in distress, she thought wrong. Widow was not a damsel, nor was she ever in distress. She was a high-level threat.

"He's my friend," she stated, like it explained everything.

And maybe it did. He didn't remember much, but he knew that at one point in time, he would have done anything for the stupid idiot.

"One conversation," he growled, and turned to walk back up the stairs, not caring if Romanoff followed.

Twenty hours had passed since he had agreed to speak with Steve, and Barnes was certain he was going insane. When he had agreed to stay, Romanoff had neglected to tell him that it would likely take 72 hours for Steve to wake up. The lazy punk.

Widow had offered to take him to the gym to spare but he had declined, so instead he sat in this stupidly soft chair, and he tried to refrain from counting the minutes. Romanoff sat on the couch next to him. She had one knee bent, and she was leaning against her thigh as she painted her toenails. The smell was obnoxious, and the purpose was unclear.

"Why do you do that?" Bucky asked.

She didn't look up from her work when she replied, "Because I can."

He didn't understand. She probably just enjoyed polluting the air with that foul smell.

She looked up at him and gave him a mischievous smile. "Steve hates the smell too."

Romanoff was a terrible person.

When the redhead finished painting her toenails, she looked back at him. "So, is your plan to just sit in that chair until Steve wakes up?" She asked.

"Affirmative," he replied. An additional 33 minutes had past. There were only 3,087 minutes until Rogers woke up.

Widow stared at him for a long time. He did not like it. She needed to stop, but no one told Romanoff what to do, so he was stuck in this terrible reality. Because of Rogers. Ass.

The front door to the apartment opened. In less than a second, he was between Romanoff and the intruder. His left hand pulled a concealed handgun, while his right went for his favorite knife. It was the black man, whose wings he broke.

The man instinctively threw his hands up in the air. "I come in peace," he said.

Romanoff snorted behind him. He turned his head to her to find her staring at him.

"And here I thought you didn't like me," she smiled.

Terrible person.

He stuffed his weapons back into their concealed locations and headed back for his chair.

The black man, Steve's new friend, put his hands down, but kept them where the Soldier could see him. "I thought you might like a break." The newcomer said to Romanoff.

Natasha crossed the room in seconds. "I could use a shower. Have fun boys!"

The black man shifted on his feet. "I'm Sam," he said.

Barnes nodded. "Affirmative. Name Samuel Thomas Wilson. Codename Falcon. Current sidekick to Captain America."

"Sidekick?!" The man sputtered. "I ain't nobody's sidekick."

Barnes smirked. "You've been following Steve around like a lost puppy."

"I've been keeping him alive," Sam grumbled as he threw himself onto the seat Natasha had vacated.

"Pretty much the same thing."

"Yeah, well someone has to," Sam grumbled again, but there is less complaint in it.

There's silence for a moment, and Barnes found himself tracking the minutes again. There's still 3080 remaining.

Sam shifted his weight on the couch, and it was all the warning Bucky received before he opened interrogations.

"Why did you agree to stay?"

The Soldier glared at the man in response.

"Glare all you want. It's much less effective after seeing you protect tiny Steve," Sam relaxed back into the couch and raised a single eyebrow in challenge.

Barnes glared harder.

"Alright, man. I'll stuff the questions."

Barnes relaxed further into his chair.

"Want to watch a movie?" Wilson asked him as he deliberately attempts to act more comfortable than he was.

Barnes shifted further back into his chair, which he hoped communicated clearly.

Sam smiled at him. "Jarvis, can you pick a movie for us."

"With pleasure, Sir."

Barnes had not communicated clearly, but at least the movie had stopped questions.

It is the end of the third stupid cartoon movie that Wilson asked him if he wanted to sleep. He couldn't sleep. He didn't trust these people. There must have been something in his expression because Wilson's face softened.

"I'll leave. No one will bother you, and Jarvis will alert you to any security threats." Sam walked to the door without another word, and Barnes found the silence of the place unnerving. The tower didn't let outside noises in, and now he only heard the soft glow of the lights and the sound of his own breathing.

He turned to head to the bedroom. He didn't remember the last time he slept, and it wouldn't do to try and reason with Rogers with a clouded mind.

He snorted. _Reason with Rogers._ Yeah, that'd be the day.

He took one look at the bed before laying on the floor. Four hundred and fifty-two minutes later, he fell asleep.

When he wakes up, Wilson has returned and has been cooking.

"Oh good. I made eggs. I imagine your metabolism is similar to Steve's, and he needs a lot of protein."

"I have successfully completed missions without food."

Sam stilled in the kitchen before slowly turning. There's a glint of something on his face that the Soldier can't decipher.

"I'm sure you have," the man said, sounding like he didn't approve. "But since you're not on a mission and there's no need to go without. Do you want some eggs?"

Barnes acquiesced.

After breakfast, Wilson was doing the dishes when he asked, "Would you like to watch more movies?"

Barnes didn't reply, but he did return to his chair where he continued to count minutes.

Wilson muttered something under his breath, and Jarvis put on more cartoons. Barnes tuned everything out as he tried to develop a plan to deal with Rogers.

It is 623 minutes later, when Jarvis announced that Rogers had finally woken up and returned to his quarters. Rogers has woken up ahead of schedule, but the stupid lug had always been an overachiever.

An additional 755 minutes have passed when Rogers and Romanoff finally come through the door. Rogers just stared at him. The poor idiot kept trying to work his mouth with zero success. Bucky felt sorry for the punk.

"You going to say something or did ya come down here to give me your best interpretation of a fish?"

"Bucky!"

Barnes rolled his eyes. Why is he the one more capable of linguistic achievement? "Yeah punk, it's me and it's not."

Romanoff and Wilson retreated out the door, leaving the two to work out their issues. Steve didn't seem to notice or care. His eyes were glued to Barnes.

Rogers nodded. "We've both changed."

Barnes couldn't help it. He snorted at that. "Pretty sure only one of us has tried to pound the other's face in."

"It doesn't matter." Steve said with the same conviction he used to rally the men into a fight in the 40s.

"It matters to me," he hissed. "I'm not safe."

"I don't care."

Barnes snorted again. His flesh hand balled into a fist. "Of course not. You don't have the sense of a brick."

Rogers was angry. Barnes knew he was trying to project an aura of calm, but the telltale signs of an angry Steve Rogers were there. He only wished he could remember what those signs were and how his brain knew them.

"To the end of the line." Rogers said calmly, way too calmly.

"That line ended on a train."

Rogers looked as though Bucky had slapped him across the face. His face morphed from anger to absolute horror. The blood drained from the Captain's face. Barnes put that expression on Steve's face. Even when he tried to protect him, he damaged him.

"Buck, I'm-" Steve shook. "I'm sor-"

Anger filled Barnes. "Shut up," he snapped. Steve's mouth immediately closed, and Barnes stepped away from Rogers. He was angry enough to hit the man. "Don't apologize."

Bucky stared at the man before him. Steve was a mess. There were signs that Steve wasn't doing well. He couldn't figure out what they were, but he knew they were there. It was frustrating. He could remember, but he didn't.

And Rogers. Looking at the man brought too many emotions swirling in Bucky's head. He ignored them to hold on to the anger. Anger at least was productive. He never felt this much during the three years, he avoided Rogers.

Damn.

Romanoff was right. He didn't stay away for Steve. He stayed away to protect himself. Staring at Steve's broken expression and desperation. He sighed.

"Alright fine, I'll stay, but I ain't sharing a bed with you. You hog the covers." He had never won an argument with Rogers anyway.

 **Author's Note:** Just one more chapter with Steve and Tony left.


	11. Chapter 11

Tony was attempting to modify his suit. Attempting being the key word. The equations kept slipping from his mind. His head always span with numbers, variables, schematics, and formulas, but he currently could not decipher their meanings, nor would they stay in his mind long enough for him to grasp them. He'd never admit it to anyone, but he couldn't ignore the days without sleep now. Throughout most of his life, 80 plus hours without sleep led to an exhilarating daze of genius and new discoveries. Now, 40 plus hours without sleep led to an impenetrable mind fog. His aging body had long suffered under his refusal to rest, and it seemed that his mind finally agreed – except he knew that the minute he laid his head down to sleep his brain would wake up and replay the details from the last week, which Tony did not want to think about - so he stared at the holographic images in front of him and commanded his brain to make sense of them.

Of course, his brain had stopped listening to him hours ago and decided that the last week was exactly what it wanted to think about.

Images of the tiny teenage terror that had occupied his space filled his mind. Loki had been found before his own personal nightmare could do permanent damage to the tower or himself. Mini Cap had been returned to his proper size, although the man had refused to wake up, so who knows what type of new nightmare personality the man would wake up with – probably his annoying boy scout persona or his infuriating I think we should be a team, but I do not want to be a part of said team unless there is an emergency routine. Whichever Cap persona Steve decided to don, it would have to be better than the teenage terror that resided in the tower for far too long.

The past few days with the short stack were exhausting, and Tony was starting to feel his body and mind lag; neither of them were moving up to speed. The engineer half-heartedly tried to keep his eyes open, but before he knew it his heavy eyelids had closed, and his body finally collapsed.

An ache in his lower back woke Tony. As consciousness returned, new pains presented themselves. Falling asleep at his desk was another thing he was going to have to write down as no longer acceptable. He'd bet good money that Steve's muscles didn't betray him like this. Maybe he should investigate the science behind the super soldier serum. Howard had helped with the first successful trial, so his dear old dad had to have left notes somewhere.

He pushed his protesting body into a seated posture and noticed that his workshop was no longer displaying holographic images and equations.

"J, what time is it?" He groaned. He moved his hands to his lower back and tried to massage and stretch out the protesting muscles.

"It is currently 1:53 pm," A voice shot out from his left.

Tony turned too quickly, and the pain in his sore neck halted his moments.

"Pepper," he cried, before moving to look at her much more slowly.

The CEO of Stark Industries was sitting on the couch that Steve had dragged in here on behest of Pepper. Her legs were crossed and her right foot bobbed slightly as she worked on her tablet. When Tony called her name, she glanced up from the tablet with a bit of exasperation. Okay, she was annoyed with him, but she didn't seem ticked, so he'd put that in the win column for now.

"We had an agreement, Tony."

"I haven't been in the lab for more than seventy hours," he replied testily.

Pepper placed the tablet down to look at him fully, and there was something in her eyes. Okay, maybe, she was ticked.

"When is the last time you slept for more than four hours?" She asked.

Which, as far as the engineer was concerned, was just playing dirty. He didn't sleep for more than four hours whenever he could get away with it. If Pepper was going to go for kill shots, he needed coffee.

He walked towards the counter with his coffee pot and began to make the delicious brown liquid. Thankfully, Pepper neglected to comment on that.

He heard Pepper rising as she asked, "Have you slept at all since Steve miniaturized?"

An involuntary laugh escaped Tony. Trust Pepper to pick the least harrowing aspect of the whole idea and emphasize that. "Not really," he shrugged as he waited for the carafe to fill with the bitter substance.

Pepper embraced him in a backwards hug. (Okay, maybe, she wasn't ticked at him. ) Tony really couldn't process all this without caffeine. Then the traitor reached forward and unplugged his coffee pot.

"You need sleep, not caffeine." And Tony was about to huff at the absolute ridiculousness of that statement, but then Pepper collapsed into him a bit. "So do I."

And if that wasn't Tony's kryptonite, he didn't know what was. He'd run himself right into the ground at speeds mortals shouldn't travel, but he would not under any circumstances drag Pepper head first into his destruction.

Pepper kissed his neck in an entirely innocent, chaste way. It's intimate in a way Tony had never allowed any of his previous lovers to express. She leaned her head into his shoulder and just held him for a few moments.

She's the first to break the silence. "Come on," she whispered, and before he could recognize what was happening, his girlfriend was pulling him toward the ridiculous monstrosity of a couch that shouldn't be in his lab in the first place. The reasonable thing to do would be to take the elevator up to the penthouse and sleep in their ridiculously comfortable bed, but Tony Stark had never been reasonable, and if Pepper Potts was half as reasonable as she wanted people to believe, she never would have been in a relationship with Tony Stark. And for all the ways neither of them were reasonable, Pepper understood that the lab was his safety net. She wouldn't drag him from it when he was feeling this frayed and raw, but she would insist on sleep. Compromise.

The couch had been a compromise. Keeping Pepper had taught him the necessity of compromise. He drifted to sleep, wondering if compromises were needed to repair the damage in his relationship with a certain super soldier.

When Tony woke up, the first thing he noticed was Pepper's absence. The second thing he noticed was that he actually slept on that terrible couch. The third thing was the tight muscles in his back had not yet calmed from his earlier sleep posture.

"J, what time is it?" The engineer asked while shuffling through the end table for an ibuprofen.

"It is currently 5:35 am, sir," Jarvis informed him. "I'm not sure the last time I saw you awake at this hour when it was not one of your exhaustion induced hazes."

"I've had a lot of breakthroughs in those exhaustion induced hazes," Tony snarked and then swallowed two red tablets.

"Pardon me, sir, I hadn't realized that mistakes, miscalculations, and injuries were breakthroughs."

Tony waved his hand at the air, tired of the argument. "Where's Pepper?"

"Ms. Potts is currently in her home office, going over the notes for the meeting with GBN this morning."

The billionaire's lips turned upwards in fond exasperation. He never understood why he was considered the workaholic of their relationship. Sure, he had a tenuous at best relationship with sleep, but he had more fun in a week than Pepper Potts had in a year.

"How long did she sleep?"

"Ms. Potts slept with you for a few hours before she woke up, did some mild yoga, fixed herself dinner, and did some meditation exercises. She returned to sleep around eleven yesterday evening." Jarvis intoned with a hint of condescension.

"Why do I feel like I'm being judged?" Tony sighed and stretched his arms over head and arched his back.

"Because unlike certain humans I know, Ms. Potts seems to understand the purpose of sleep."

Tony smirked. "Is Cap not listening to your suggestions that even a super soldier needs sleep?"

The genius was one hundred percent certain that Jarvis would be giving him a look if the AI had a corporeal form. "None of the residents in this building function with a normal amount of sleep. Ms. Potts and occasionally Dr. Banner are the only ones who seem to realize that the human body needs sleep to function."

Tony waved his hand, dismissing the comment. "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

"Unfortunately, the refusal of rest raises the likelihood of your demise."

The engineer ignored his counterpart and attempted to load the screens from last night. "J, why are none of the computers responding to me?" He questioned.

"Ms. Potts disabled the lab from 4 am to 10 am as a health precaution."

"What? Can she do that? Show me the code that allows for that."

"Ms. Potts has unilateral control decisions regarding your health and safety. I'll be happy to pull up the code for you at 10, Sir."

Tony dropped into his lab chair. "Did I set the codes for that after the Frankfurt mission?"

"Indeed sir, Ms. Potts insisted on it after you passed out in the lab from exhaustion and an infection that had set in after you refused to have your wounds properly sutured."

Yeah, that had been fun. Pepper had almost left him then, saying it was too hard to love a man that refused to exhibit even a basic attention level to staying alive. In a painkiller inspired haze, the inventor rewrote his AI's basic codes. He hated it, but he hated the thought of life without Pepper more. Speaking of Pep, an idea slowly spread into his mind. His lips curled into a grin.

"J, how important is her meeting?"

Pepper's recorded voice replaced Jarvis'. "And tell Tony that if he even thinks about distracting me this morning, I will stab him with the nearest sharp object." There was a small sigh in the recording. "You can also tell him that I've made reservations for the two of us on Saturday and that I promise to leave my work phone at home."

Tony's lips twitched involuntarily into a smile. Compromise could be a beautiful thing, an entire Saturday evening with Pepper. Perhaps, he'd finally give her the little black box.

His stomach growled unhappily at him, and he decided that he needed a real meal in his system.

Tony grabbed a smoothie before heading down to the gym. Unfortunately, he had to work twice as hard now to maintain his physical health. Aging was a blast.

Strolling through the doors of the gym, he saw a certain super soldier pounding a punching bag and immediately froze.

Oh crap.

Steve was awake. Tony had never been the best at paying attention to the amount of time that had elapsed, but the scientist should have realized that Rogers had woken up and returned straight to the gym. If Rogers was in the tower, there was a 94.345% probability that he was in the gym or his guest apartment. Maybe, he could sneak out and escape before Steve notices –

"Tony," Steve breathed out, halting the swaying motion of the bag with one hand.

Crap.

"Well rise and shine sleeping beauty. That's twice now you have an incident with traveling to the future. I'm starting to think you have a thing for time travel," Tony suggested as he waggled his eyebrows, while walking to the pull up bar.

Steve's lips drew in a tight line – the way they always did when Rogers was going to say something that Tony did not want to hear. The engineer briefly considered commanding Jarvis to play a workout playlist, to drown out the awkwardness of this confrontation, but Rogers had that firm set in his shoulders, basically promising that he would hound Stark until he said what he needed to say. Fine, he'd play nice to get this over with.

"Tony, I'm glad you're here. I was planning on stopping by the lab after I finished my morning workout, but this saves me a trip," Steve said, striding from the punching bag to Tony's line of sight.

It was bad enough that the man was going to apologize, but did he have to do it while looking Tony in the eye? Why couldn't Cap just sweep everything under the rug and forget things happened like the rest of us mortals?

Rogers focused his eyes on Tony, who pretended he was too busy concentrating to make eye contact. "Tony, I owe you an apology."

The engineer regretted his choice of workout equipment. Did he think performing pull-ups while Captain Freaking America stares at him was a good plan? Tony felt his chest puff. Oh great, even his body felt emasculated. Worse still, he couldn't even throw out a hand to wave him off. Of course, Cap could probably do pull-ups with one finger.

Ugh. Just do twenty and then move to a different piece of equipment.

"Don't worry about it. You were confused and didn't trust me." Tony huffed out. Great, he sounded winded. "To be fair, I did lie to you."

Rogers rubbed the back of his neck. "I know, but you hosted me and took care of me, and I returned that with malice. I punched you." He shook his head. "My ma taught me better than that."

Tony dropped from the bar and smirked. "Yeah well, it was tiny you, so it didn't do much damage. Geez Rogers, I hadn't realized how small you had been."

"Tony," Steve groaned.

The engineer's smirk grew. He walked over to the treadmill. Sure, Rogers could run for hours, but running in front of Captain America was less humiliating than strength based exercises...hopefully.

Unprompted Rogers followed him. At least, he didn't start the machine next to the scientist, instead he chose to stand in front of Tony – but at least he had given up trying to make eye-contact.

"My ma died in the winter of 35," the man continued as he stared off. "I spent the rest of the year picking fights. I made Buck sick with worry."

For a few seconds, the only sound in the gym was Tony's feet pounding on the conveyor belt. Until Steve snapped his eyes back to Tony.

"I'm not offering an excuse, but I am sorry. I dishonored her. She taught me better than that." There was something in Cap's voice, and the engineer wondered if he was going to cry. He's not sure if he could handle it if Cap cried. Scratch that. He definitely could not handle Captain America crying.

Tony's mind flashed back to the year 1992, and the subsequent poor decisions he had made.

"Yeah, okay. No hard feelings."

Steve smiled softly. "You're a good man, Tony. I'm sorry the younger me didn't see it."

"Nope," Tony exclaimed, chasing Steve away with his arms. "No more apologies or feelings in my tower."

Steve's smile grew slightly, and Tony called it a success.

"I'm going to shower, before I go to talk to Bucky. Thanks for everything."

Cap turned to leave the gym.

"How is he doing?" Tony called after the super soldier.

Steve shook his head, all traces of the previous smile erased. "I haven't talked to him yet. Nat informed me that it would be prudent to wait until my head was on straight and not just rush in."

Tony snorted. "That's good advice. You should follow it more often."

Throwing Tony an unimpressed look, Steve exited the gym. The middle-aged superhero asked Jarvis to play AC/DC to drown out the thoughts in his head as he ran.


End file.
